John Mc wrote: ↑Sun Feb 25, 2024 11:01 am
I have not removed mine. I'm thinking I might want that support in there for when there are heavy loads on the tailgate.
Yeah, any heavy load the support would be needed. Then again it only needs to be an L bracket to support the hinge tube.
Mine was hammered into a curve, not a good one at that. It kept hitting the flat of the tailgate. Removal just freed the tailgate up, no binding. The old girl won't be worked anymore. Just a pleasant driver.
Alright, once the tailgate is on for good I’ll direct some attention to getting that center support fitting properly.
Today’s job was taking a break from bodywork and instead, fixing the fresh air vent on the cab. It has always been kind of loose, and it turns out the reason for that is that the passenger side bracket had broken free from the body. First, at the factory they had hit that sucker about 5 or 6 times with the spot welder and none had penetrated very well at all. Then over time the hinge had seized, and off came the welds.
Let me just say getting that back on was a major source of frustration. First, everything was cleaned down to bare metal, then I bolted the hinge to the vent and got it lined up and clamped down. Then I proceeded to attempt to weld it in lying on my back in the passenger footwell. The clamp would shift, the hinge would need to be realigned, the welder would spatter and the hot sparks would go right up the sleeve of my welding jacket… Needless to say it was one job that took far longer than expected, but it is in there and it is not coming out!
No pictures because this was not a pretty job…
I’m almost looking forward to going back to bodywork now. Lol
Home 
